Unlocking Retirement Savings to Fund a New Business Many people have dreams of starting a business but lack the capital or funding needed to launch their new business ideas. It’s true: It costs money to start a business. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) says that how to fund a business is one of the…
Dealing with COVID fatigue unites business owners. If that sounds strange to you, let me make my case. I’m not doing this to whine, but I want business owners who don’t have an existing support structure to know that they aren’t alone. I facilitate several peer groups of business owners. For decades, we’ve met monthly…
Purpose after the sale is one of the biggest challenges for an exiting owner. Purpose – “Having as one’s intention or objective.” Many exit planning advisors discuss the three legs of the exit planning stool – business readiness, financial readiness and personal readiness. In our previous two articles, we focused on two of the “big…
In our last article about life after the sale we discussed identity. Even when business owners are comfortable with who they are, however, there is still the nuts and bolts issue of activity. A business owner spends 20, 30, or (not uncommonly with Boomers,) 40 years focused on running a business. Unless they’ve built a substantial…
Work from anywhere has been a necessity, an epithet, an obstacle, and an opportunity over the last 3 years. To paraphrase Aristotle’s axiom about Nature (“Horror Vacui”), business abhors a vacuum. Where one occurs, it is quickly filled. Work from anywhere started as a COVID-induced necessity. During the lockdowns of 2020-2021 (and longer in some…
Life after the sale is often both the most important and most neglected factor in exit planning. Although (according to two different surveys in 2013 and 2022,) 75% of owners report regrets or unhappiness a year after the transition, exit plans continue to be constructed primarily around financial targets. In the event you haven’t heard…
Lifestyle and Legacy are two very different types of owner transition objectives. When we ask a client “What do you expect as a result of our exit planning?” the answer may be about the money, the time frame, or the impact on people. No matter how it is phrased, the response will break down into…
Since 2013 I’ve updated this piece about the underappreciated and forgotten boss of A Christmas Carol, Mr. Fezziwig. I hope that you enjoy it. Merry Christmas! Last week was the 180th anniversary of the publication of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (December 17, 1843). The immortal words of Ebenezer Scrooge are ingrained in the memory of the entire…
Defining the role of a coach on your exit planning team doesn’t just happen. Like any other aspect of working with consultants, you need to set expectations upfront. Many advisors like to characterize themselves as the “quarterback” of a transition planning team. I’ve always objected to that. We regard the business owner as the quarterback…
Delegation and depth are critical when presenting your business as a buying opportunity. For many business owners, exit planning means getting the company ready for sale to a third party. There are a number of approaches to enhancing preparedness for a third-party sale. Assessing Readiness Some planning software products begin with a comprehensive survey of…
When preparing for the transfer of a business, there are many stakeholders who can impact your plan. Some have direct authority or decision-making capability over the transaction, but others may have substantial influence. In general, it’s best to presume that anyone who has a relationship with the owner or the business will have some impact…
The road less traveled is often a misimpression when considering a transition from business ownership. Surveys show that roughly 85% of owners expect their exit to happen via a sale of the business to a third party. A third-party sale is certainly attractive. The idea of monetizing decades of work in one lump-sum payoff seems…
Owners don’t like the “Exit” word. They tell us regularly to change it, or that talking about it is uncomfortable. It’s the elephant in the room. I understand. Anyone selling life insurance or funeral pre-planning knows that you don’t start with “So, let’s discuss what happens when you DIE.” For business owners, leaving the business…
By Eric Segal The banking landscape has consolidated in the last three years. Maybe it was runaway inflation that caused cost-cutting branch closings. Or it was bigger banks gobbling smaller banks for quick market share. And let’s not forget the industry’s ongoing march toward digital transformation, which grabs more traction each month. Whatever the cause,…
It seems intuitive: a deal requires compromise. Sellers and buyers each have their own goals (some more realistic than others) and should come together, but each often begins the process oblivious to the other’s needs. Suppose you’ve owned an auto service station for 30 years. You are tired of all the hassles and have made…
The Red Sea disruption forcing ships to go around Africa creates a new Supply Chain reality. It can lead to late deliveries of inventory resulting in disruptions affecting business globally. One of the noticeable issues is the Reuters report, “Tesla, Volvo Car in Europe Pause Output of Certain Car’s models.” Besides the production disruptions, late…
THE CRITICAL QUESTION FOR BUSINESS OWNERS: DEFINING SUCCESS – WHY ARE YOU ON THIS ROAD? By Ladd Hirsch on April 15, 2024 “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” — From Alice’s conversation with Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland For business owners intently focused on growing their…
It’s midnight. Your recycling bin is overflowing with rejected resumes. Your eyes can barely focus on the letters in front of you — and you have this uneasy feeling that you are about to invest in another candidate who just isn’t going to work out. This has been a vicious cycle over the past several…
“I should demote myself!” joked the head of sales. “It looks like I am better at selling than at managing a sales team.” We were looking at his team’s individual sales numbers. He was selling more when he was a regular salesperson than his whole team today. We too often promote the wrong person into…
Effective March 12, 2024, New York Labor Law prohibits employers from requiring employees and job applicants to provide information about their personal accounts. If you think this sounds familiar, you are right. This idea has been in place in various states for years; now New York is joining in! Under the new legislation, “personal accounts”…
Unlocking Retirement Savings to Fund a New Business Many people have dreams of starting a business but lack the capital or funding needed to launch their new business ideas. It’s true: It costs money to start a business. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) says that how to fund a business is one of the…
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